


The starlight of the day we saw together

by asereth



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Yeonjun, But also, Fantasy, Friendship is Magic, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, author talks about quidditch a lot i'm sorry, name a genre and it probably applies to this fic, the kids are just dramatic wbk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27725834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asereth/pseuds/asereth
Summary: Before Beomgyu gets on the Hogwarts express, he has two basic reasons to be nervous: the OWL exams and Kang Taehyun, a certain Ravenclaw, who decided to bleach the hell out of his hair during summer. However, his ideas about his fifth year get crushed soon when he's hit by the reality - which is that something about Hogwarts doesn't seem quite right.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 21
Kudos: 94





	1. How It All Started

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i decided to start a new fanfiction with more complex plot and since the harry potter series basically made my whole middle school years, this setting feels pretty nostalgic and exciting to me. i am not sure how frequent the updates are going to be since i'm a student but i'll try to stay motivated and post as often as possible! :)
> 
> txt's houses + years:  
> yeonjun - slytherin, 6th year  
> soobin - hufflepuff, 5th year  
> beomgyu - gryffindor, 5th year  
> taehyun - ravenclaw, 4th year  
> hueningkai - hufflepuff, 4th year

It was a beautiful morning, really – sun was lazily resting on the East, only just getting ready to shine all day, though its rays didn’t miss a chance to peek between tall buildings and tickle Beomgyu’s already sun-kissed cheeks from time to time. Beomgyu didn’t mind, watching perfectly blue sky through the car window, resting his dark messy nest against quite cold glass. His brown irises caught the light and appeared honey-like which made the boy even prettier, if it was possible. It was a beautiful morning but it didn’t stand a chance next to Beomgyu.

Now see, that was something new. Of course, Beomgyu has always been cute to say at least. His big puppy eyes, soft lips, thin body – he was delicate by looks as a contradiction to his charismatic personality. But only this summer has puberty hit him like a train. He hasn’t cut his hair for two months, because he didn’t have _time_ as his best friend Hueningkai, who spent the holidays at his grandparents’ (who live like twenty minutes from Beomgyu’s house), visited him almost every other day with a new exciting activity. Whether it was swimming in a lake, playing this muggle game called baseball or even just wandering around, licking ice lollies and laughing loudly. Sometimes Jaeyun, this kid Beomgyu met through his mum’s friend and quickly learnt to absolutely adore, would tag along. 

By the end of August, precisely one hot night when Beomgyu couldn’t sleep with pyjamas on so he got up and took his T-Shirt off, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror standing close to his desk and noticed few changes. It wasn’t just his ridiculously long hair. Beomgyu’s cheeks got a little bit slimmer, his jaw more distinct. And those shoulders were definitely broader. 

Beomgyu has always been an overthinker and the thought of him growing up was definitely a big deal. He was only fifteen and not ready for whatever these changes brought. Adulting was _scary_.

His aunts noticed it too which only made him more annoyed about it. These middle-aged ladies proudly exclaimed how pretty he got and how Beomgyu will have to drive off all the girl admirers they were oh-so-sure he’ll get. He couldn’t help but feel his guts twist at that. And there was a little bit too much cheek pinching which only reminded him of Yeonjun who he hasn’t seen all summer.

He did receive letters regularly at the beginning of July but then there was a three weeks long gap between the envelope that came from Sweden and the one that came from Korea. Yeonjun, however, never addressed his sudden unavailability and flooded him with photos from his journeyings instead. The younger didn’t miss his friend’s tired expression. 

Beomgyu closes his eyes, shifting in his car seat, trying to get rid of these thoughts.

“-Gyu… Beomgyu, are you even listening to me?”

Ah.

He opens one eye, his dad shoots him a look through the small mirror. His mum isn’t looking at him, but Beomgyu apologetically smiles nonetheless as if she could see.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I’m just making sure you’re okay. I don’t want to stress you out but you know the OWL exams await you this year and you seem to be zoning out a lot.”

Beomgyu sighs, quickly breaking the eye contact with his dad and focusing on the parking lot in front of King’s Cross Station where a mop of platinum blond hair catches his attention. He can feel a lump in his throat forming as the person suddenly turns around, revealing big sparkly eyes and perfect features that just confirm Beomgyu’s guess – the Ravenclaw has indeed bleached his hair. “Kang Taehyun, what the fuck.”

“What was that?”

“I said I’ll manage, don’t worry,” he quickly clears his throat, trying to show both his parents the most natural smile as he tears his eyes away from Taehyun who is now happily chatting with a tall Hufflepuff Beomgyu recognizes as one of the new prefects. Soomin? No, that’s a girl name… _Soobin_ it is. “I can always get some help from Yeonjun-hyung, he aced his exams last year.”

“Okay. If you need anything, send us an owl, alright?” And with that, Beomgyu’s dad parks the car. He then proceeds to help his son with the big trunk – _suspiciously too big_ to even fit into the automobile – and then his mum kisses his cheek goodbye as Beomgyu spots Yeonjun at the top of the stairs to the station and quickly rushes to catch his friend before he gets lost in the crowd of young wizards.

The cage with tawny owl is dangerously jumping on the top of his trunk and the bird keeps screeching in anger upon being woken up that way but all Beomgyu can do is just mumble apologies and grab the cart’s handle firmly to secure it. Not that it helps but Yeonjun finally spots him. The older puts his finger to his mouth, gesturing for him to not talk right now but honestly? Beomgyu has been waiting all summer for this moment and he’s over it.

“Choi Yeonjun, I swear–” Beomgyu stops mid-sentence when he finally stands right in front of him, noticing the warning in Yeonjun’s eyes.

 _Not here_. Yeonjun shakes his head and then, in a heartbeat, the corners of his lips quirk up as he smiles. “Ya, Beomgyu~. Dropping the honorifics for his hyung like this, mhm~? I’ll let it slide this time if you buy me a chocolate frog on the express.”

Beomgyu reciprocates the cheeky smile, quickly catching on Yeonjun’s intentions. His eyes wander around the platform as he talks and then he sees – a group of five people dressed in cloaks, black pants and dark grey vests with a golden M on them. _What are they here for?_ One of the men probably feels Beomgyu’s stare on his nape, but luckily the two years of playing Quidditch trained Beomgyu’s reflexes well enough and before the auror spots him in the crowd, he’s already casually replying to Yeonjun. “Ah, hyung, I can’t believe your first instinct after meeting me after some time is to make me buy you sweets! Hyung is so mean.”

Yeonjun scoffs and wraps his arms around Beomgyu’s shoulder, pulling him in for a hug. He whispers. “I’ll explain everything later, don’t worry.” And then he steps back, pointing to the famous wall between the platform nine and ten. “Let’s go now before we miss the train, shall we? I am also craving the chocolate frog.”

“Hey! I never said I am actually buying you one!”

“Of course you are, you can’t resist your hyung, now, can you?”

“Two days ago,” Yeonjun pauses to take another bite of liquorice, his face serious. Since they’re alone in a coupe there are no more reasons for him to drag the conspicuous small talk out. However, Beomgyu still lets him take his time even though the questions burn on his tongue. _Where have you been? Why didn’t you tell me anything? Are you okay? What’s up with the aurors coming to Hogwarts?_ “Hyuka send me a Howler.”

“Hyu- you mean our Hueningkai?” Yeonjun nods. It strikes Beomgyu now – he hasn’t seen his favourite Hufflepuff today yet. Without realizing it, he leans over to grab a handful of Jelly slugs to calm his nerves. 

“I can’t tell you everything now since a train with aurors is never a safe place for confidential talk,” – _c-confidential?_ – “but I’ll try to enlighten you as much as possible. To be honest, when the red envelope dropped on my table on Saturday just as I was having a breakfast, I got scared thinking it was from my grandma or something.”

“Hyung, the point.”

“Damn, someone’s impatient, hm?” Yeonjun smiles but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes as he leans over, whispering. “When I opened it and screaming Kai filled my kitchen, I thought it was some kind of a silly joke. But listen. Even though the Howler was loud, he himself seemed to be quite… how to say it… off? In a sense that he told me he isn’t coming to Hogwarts with us.”

“What!” Beomgyu whisper-yells. “What do you mean he isn’t coming to Hogwarts? He didn’t tell me anything and I spent most of the summer with him!”

“That’s because he didn’t know it until he came home. From what I got he should be there by the next Wednesday.”

“But why? Kai seemed just fine!”

“It’s not really about Kai,” a silhouette of a person passes their coupe so Yeonjun breaths in, waiting for the steps to become more distant. “It’s about his dad.”

Beomgyu raises an eyebrow. 

“He’s American, remember? To be specific, he works for Magical Congress of the United States of America. He’s an auror, Beomgyu.” When the confused expression doesn’t leave younger’s face, Yeonjun leans in a bit more until their knees are touching. “Don’t you think it’s weird that Hyuka spent whole summer at his grandparents’ house? So far away from his dad? And then, when he comes home after two months, he suddenly can’t go to Hogwarts?”

“I just don’t understand, from the beginning. I mean, why would he send you a Howler?”

“That was actually a smart move from him,” Yeonjun smiles, honest, this time. “Ministry of Magic has been reading people’s post for past few weeks. They can’t open Howlers though.” He pauses, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “Look, I don’t know what exactly is going on but my mum told me that over the summer she saw US ministers around the Department of Mysteries. She also has to be super careful what she lets out in the Daily Prophet – as I mentioned with the post, everything written is examined before published or sent. This all can’t be coincidence. I’m telling you, something big is about to happen.”

“Do you think Hogwarts play a role in this?”

Yeonjun nods. “Aurors here are just too suspicious, Hogwarts is the safest place in our world.”

Beomgyu stays silent for a while before his eyes go wide. “Are you implying that they aren’t here for protection but rather to investigate some case?”

“Exactly.”

Their conversation ends like that because the steps that they heard earlier make a comeback. Beomgyu bites his tongue to stop more words from forming when the sliding door to the coupe opens and a man – the same man that caught his attention on the platform – looks inside. He inspects the space without a word, barely even looking at either of the boys and then leaves.

 _It’s not safe here_. Beomgyu, in the most casual way, starts talking about his and Kai’s holidays as if the other wasn’t on the other side of the world right now.


	2. The Mouse and The Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually finished this chapter pretty quickly - i introduce some new characters and there's also the first taegyu interaction! enjoy reading! :)

Beomgyu sat down by the Gryffindor table, unconsciously fixing his red tie and robes while listening to the Sorting Hat’s song. He can’t keep his eyes up front, no, not with the way Kang Taehyun – sitting at a Ravenclaw table, far away enough from Beomgyu, mind you – keeps scanning the whole Great Hall. After they make an eye contact for the sixth time, Beomgyu silently promises to himself to just stop looking that way.

That is when the Sorting Hat catches his attention.

_“And that’s the four houses!_

_Before I start sorting,  
let me remind you,  
those in the dark  
cannot be trusted.  
Always seek light,  
keep your heart opened,  
anything is possible,  
just look for the clue._

_Time is irrelevant,  
and so is your colour,  
if you crave answers,  
you have to be together.”_

The Great Hall hums in confusion but the noise is soon cut off by professor Moore, the Head of Slytherin house, who calls out the first name on the list of parchment. Beomgyu searches for Yeonjun who is already turning around to give him a half-knowing, half-concerned expression. All the Gryffindor can do is offer a small smile before Yeonjun looks back to his fellow housemates – a girl with bright orange hair pinches his elbow, pointing to the captain of Slytherin Quidditch team, who leans over, mumbling something Beomgyu can’t quite decipher from such distance. 

But forget the captain of Slytherin’s Quidditch team, Kang Taehyun _is staring at him again_. This time, it isn’t a coincidence because the Ravenclaw doesn’t budge even after Beomgyu cocks his eyebrow.

 _“What?”_ Beomgyu mouths, only to get a shoulder shrug back.

_“What you?”_

_“I asked first, what is up with you?”_ but Taehyun probably doesn’t catch that or he actually realizes how rude it is to stare because he looks away, unreadable grimace on his face as he rather claps for the new boy who nervously skips to the Ravenclaw table with a wide smile. Beomgyu sighs because really, what even is Taehyun to him?

He wouldn’t call them friends for sure, he just knows too little about the other. What is Taehyun’s personality like? Well, he’s a Ravenclaw so he’s probably witty, right? Witty… snarky, totally, Beomgyu remembers the time two years ago when Taehyun only with arguments absolutely destroyed this sixth year guy who was picking on the tall Hufflepuff boy. _Soobin._ When Beomgyu actually thinks about it, aren’t Taehyun and Soobin just so close? Anyway, Taehyun is witty and snarky and also slightly shorter than Beomgyu, he reckons, oh he’s also super blond now but the latter two aren’t really personality traits, are they?

 _Why do you even care?_ Beomgyu blinks twice, shakes his head and brushes the few messy hair strands back. _That’s going to be a pain in the ass during Quidditch,_ he bitterly smiles, pleased with himself for being able to stop thinking about Kang Taehyun so quickly. 

“Now!” the headmaster Hornette claps her hands, giving the whole Great Hall a gentle smile as the students get the memo and quiet down. Her golden-brown skin is literally glowing as she stands right in front of the stand and let’s the flying candles reflect light on her well-defined cheek bones. Her curls seem to be flying, too, with how fluffy and airy they are – but that’s just what being a part Veela is like. Teagen Hornette, pleased with the attention, clears her throat. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I know you’re all waiting for the banquet to begin but first, let me start off with a few words. As always, I’m warning that those who decide to go to the Forbidden Forest for a picnic or any other activity, will be punished – please, kids, the forest is called forbidden for a reason, use your brain,” the Great Hall echoes with a light laughter before the woman continues her speech. 

“I would also like to remind the fifth and seventh years about their upcoming exams. Don’t underestimate your preparation, we all want to enjoy our summer outside of school – but you get that enough already, right?” she looks around and Beomgyu swears he feels her piercing green eyes his way. “And last but not least, to address the presence of this year’s special… _guests,_ ” waving her arm in the direction of the five people dressed in the black uniforms, there’s no smile to her sharp features anymore, “understand, that Ministry of Magic _dearly_ asked these five aurors to come to Hogwarts as a prevention due to recent events. That being said, they won’t disturb our usual flow both in and out of lessons. However, I ask you all to behave to keep our good name. Now, without further ado, let’s start eating, shall we?”

The plates with chicken, bowls of mashed potatoes, pudding in wide glasses and so much more fill all the tables and once again, the Great Hall sounds like a hive where the students buzz with loud conversations, laughter and cutlery jingle. 

Beomgyu steals one last glance towards Yeonjun but the boy already seems to be busy eating if his full cheeks are anything to go by.

“Hey, you gonna eat that?” Jasper, the fourth year sitting in front of him, gives him big puppy eyes.

“Ya!” Beomgyu reaches over, taking the bowl of steamed chestnuts and adds a spoonful to his empty plate. “If you keep eating so much, your broom won’t be able to hold you up there anymore.”

“And if _you_ keep daydreaming like that, a Beater like me will easily knock you down,” the blonde smirks, showing the motion of hitting a Bludger before looking back to Beomgyu. “Now pass the food.”

Beomgyu playfully throws three chestnuts his friend’s way, trying to hide his giggles when Jasper fails to dodge all of them. He really should stop worrying so much.

And the thing is that if there’s anything unusual going on, one wouldn’t be able to tell. 

Beomgyu wakes up early next morning to enjoy the peace of quiet breakfast because as he knows, the rest of the mornings will be quite hectic – professor Doves, the Head of Gryffindor house, gives the boy his time table as soon as he spots a red tie in the small crowd of other morning people. It appears that this year, he starts at nine every day. Beomgyu can’t help but groan when he spots the two Astronomy classes on Wednesday and Friday.

“Excited for this year, hm?” Brier Doves laughs at Beomgyu’s pained expression and pats his back. “How about Quidditch? Any special strategies for this year? I wasn’t able to talk to Azure yet but she seemed pretty pissed about losing to Slytherin last time. I bet she won’t let that happen since it’s her- ah! Miss Ibex!” The man’s face lightens up as he spots the tall girl enter the Great Hall. Beomgyu laughs as Azure jumps at the sudden call of her name but then he fully focuses on the basket of fresh croissants in front of him. 

It doesn’t surprise Beomgyu when the clock hits eight and Yeonjun is still nowhere to be seen – the said boy mentioned many times before that he’d rather visit the kitchen in Dungeons five minutes before his class than to wake up early. At eight thirty though, the already unmistakable messy blond nest makes appearance. Beomgyu tries hard to focus on the Daily Prophet in his hands and the title that says _Loch Ness Makes an Appearance in Scotland After a Whole Decade_ and most importantly, he tries to not budge when the Ravenclaw makes his way towards him instead of his house’s table. 

“Good morning,” Taehyun casually says, as he sits across Beomgyu and reaches over to take a green apple.

 _It’s poisoned_ – the thought runs through Beomgyu’s mind, not talking about the apple, rather about the unreadable focus in younger boy’s eyes. “Morning.”

“Not a good one?”

“ _Good_ morning,” he holds the eye contact but when there’s a smirk tugging on Taehyun’s lips, he huffs and looks away. “So, what made you come to the lone lion, you raven?”

“First of all, our animal is an _eagle_ , not a raven. It’s not that hard to notice, see?” Taehyun points to his robes, mainly to the small patch on his chest. “Second of all, I want you to do me a favour. Stop looking at me like that, I want to ask you about Quidditch.”

Now that’s interesting. Beomgyu barks a laugh before he can stop it from escaping his lips. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

The other, however, doesn’t seem to be surprised by such reaction. He holds his delicate hand out. “Kang Taehyun.”

“Choi Beomgyu,” he accepts the offer after a second of hesitation, noticing just how warm Taehyun’s hand is. 

“Amazing, great meeting you. So, Quidditch –”

“Not to interrupt or anything –”

“– you just did exactly _that_ –”

“– but why are you asking _me_? If you’re doing an essay for Flying class or whatever, wouldn’t it be better for you to talk with your housemates? I mean, every team has its individual tactics and you can’t expect that I will just tell you ours like that because of your homework or something.”

“It’s… it’s not for my Flying class,” the slight stutter makes Beomgyu even more intrigued, he’s never seen Taehyun unsure of himself. He decides he likes the change and this time, it’s him smirking. If Taehyun notices, he doesn’t let it show on his face. “I want to join the team this year but Quidditch played at school is different from what I’m used to when I play with my cousins back home, you know. So, I’m asking you to give me some tips – only for a beginner, of course, I am not here to pump you about your plays and tricks.”

Beomgyu worries his bottom lip between his teeth, waiting for any sign that Taehyun is joking but when the other starts shifting nervously in his seat, he realizes he’s actually serious. “Okay. But that still quite doesn’t answer my first question. Why are you asking me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Taehyun chuckles. Beomgyu shakes his head, clueless. “I’ve seen you play against our team last year. And against Hufflepuff and Slytherin, too. There’s just… there’s something about you when you’re up there in the air. You’re so fast and make flying look like the simplest thing there is – your form is fierce yet light, as if you were dancing. And when you catch the Snitch, you make everyone watching want to cheer for you. Quidditch feels different when you play.”

“Oh, uhm, thanks?” Beomgyu clears his throat, surprised from unexpected praises. He just prays he isn’t blushing. “I appreciate it but I’m pretty thin, that’s probably why it’s easier for me to move around, haha…”

“Not really, you have a pretty great presence,” Taehyun shakes his head and then smiles. “When you’re on the broom, I mean, you’re pretty much the opposite once your feet hit the ground.”

“And you expect me to help you out with attitude like that?” Beomgyu plays offended but finds it actually hard to take such remark personally – especially since Taehyun’s big eyes still hang on him with clear admiration in them. “I also never really thought about Quidditch. It just kinda comes to you? With practise and determination, of course. You have to find your own motivation and reasons to play. If what you’re saying is true… about Quidditch feeling different when you watch me, I mean,” _don’t blush, Choi Beomgyu, that’d be embarrassing,_ “then I’m not really sure if you should actually start. Because you can’t copy other player’s plays, you know, not trying to be mean.”

Taehyun has the audacity to laugh at that, loud and ringing. He takes first bite of the apple he’s been only passing from hand to hand throughout their conversation and for a second, Beomgyu actually thinks that even the fruit might be a bit poisoned because the admiration leaves Taehyun’s eyes the moment he looks back at him. It gets replaced by something daring instead. “Your type of play doesn’t make me want to copy it. It makes me want to completely crush you.”

Beomgyu gulps at the shift of atmosphere. Taehyun gets up, still watching the older. As if Beomgyu was a mouse and Taehyun a cat. Beomgyu then realizes how Taehyun was right – if anyone said something like that to him while in the air, he wouldn’t hesitate taking the obvious challenge. Now it takes him some will to reply with: “W-well, if you make it to the team, then I would gladly see that.”

Taehyun nods. “Of course. Anyway, my Transfiguration class starts in a bit so I better get going now. See you around?”

It’s clearly not a question, yet Beomgyu feels the need to answer. “See you, Taehyun.”


	3. Reach Out to Catch the Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! after a while i'm back with another update. these past few weeks have been pretty stressful to me so i didn't really have the time to sit down and write but it's finally here! :]
> 
> (i promise the story will come soon and not just talks about quidditch sdfkj)

Beomgyu inhales.

Exhales. 

Inhales again.

Exhales. Goes three steps left and three steps right, before he sighs and picks up the red Quidditch uniform from the bench and pulls it over his head. His teammates already left the changing room to go and talk to the few people, mostly just close friends, who are dedicated enough to go and watch an unofficial game on a rainy Saturday. 

Beomgyu was usually eager for this traditional match between their and Slytherin’s team that started off the new year at Hogwarts but the past two weeks have been just too much for him to handle. From avoiding confronting Taehyun to Hueningkai who was supposed to be here on Wednesday and who’s nowhere to be find – it’s been pretty stressful if you add the pressure his professors have been putting on him since the classes began and the fact that Yeonjun creates a new conspiracy almost every time they see each other. Which is often. 

_(“Kai’s sister, Lea, isn’t here either. Have you even heard what Hornette said about the aurors? I’ll gladly remind you – they’re here, because of some recent events. Something bad happened.”_

_“Don’t be ridiculous, hyung. There hasn’t been anything new or really unusual in Daily Prophet, don’t you think your mum would be the first one to write an article if something was up?”_

_That day, Beomgyu noticed Yeonjun’s face twisting into a somewhat pained grimace upon hearing him mention his mum. It disappeared almost immediately. “You know how it is. The bigger the fuck up is, the more possible it is for government to hide it.”)_

The brunet finds these words repeating like an echo in his mind even now as he puts on the protective pads and runs his fingers through the long locks. For a second, Beomgyu lets the thought of Hueningkai or Lea breaking laws invade his brain but such act gets soon put on a stop when the door to the changing room opens with a loud squeak. It’s not the door itself that takes Beomgyu out of his head – it’s the words that follow.

“Beomgyu? Are you okay?”

Beomgyu quickly turns around with a hand on his chest, clearly taken aback by a non-Gryffindor in their changing room. The blue sweater the other boy wears doesn’t help calming his heart but when Taehyun cocks his eyebrow, it strikes him that the Ravenclaw is asking a question. He takes another moment to process the words and then laughs awkwardly. “Yeah, I’m almost done getting ready. What… uhm. What about you, though? I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

“Well, I was supposed to meet up with a friend today but I ran into Yeonjun the other day and he told me about the game.” _Oh, of course it was Yeonjun, that little snake–_ “I wanted to see how you play your first match after a summer break. Not to mention that I never really got the advice I asked you for.”

The words should sound bitter but Beomgyu, with a delight, realizes that there are no harsh edges to them. That’s probably what gives him the confidence to throw a smirk Taehyun’s way as he stretches his arms. “I am here to show everyone a great play today because no break no matter how long could ever affect Choi Beomgyu’s performance, thanks for your concerns.”

He expects an eye-roll or maybe a laugh followed by some teasing – but Taehyun takes a step forward so he’s closer to Beomgyu and is able to examine the whole façade the older has been putting on around him since the challenge was up from around two weeks ago. The big brown eyes pierce right through his skin and Beomgyu considers taking a step back so the space between them feels less intimate but the lockers behind him won’t let him. The indescribable force that makes him stare right back at Taehyun won’t let him. 

“Really? Because it seems to me that all you do lately is stare into nothing. Are you sure you’ll be able to spot the Snitch in the sky when you’re unable to see that there’s something wrong with you in the first place? Or is it just your ego taking over and hiding your insecurities so I don’t go easy on you, hm?” In the end, Beomgyu does end up with his back against the cold metal lockers with the way Taehyun emphasizes each sentence by closing the remaining gap between the two. “Believe me, I won’t ever go easy on you but my rule is that we play an honest game. So, I’m asking you again. Are you okay?”

Beomgyu hesitates. He’s never seen the other so riled up about something – definitely not about _him_ – not that there were many opportunities for that anyway. Honestly, he would love to mix a cheeky joke into the tense atmosphere now created in the room but judging by Taehyun’s intense stare, it’s not exactly the right time for that. He considers lying next but ends up sighing loudly and lightly gripping Ravenclaw’s shoulders so he can move him aside a bit and get to the bench. Beomgyu sits down, his face falling into his palms.

He can feel the warmth follow up as Taehyun takes the place right next to him. The latter puts his hand awkwardly on his back and Beomgyu can’t help but smile a little at the attempt of comfort. It perhaps actually works because Beomgyu looks up to find Taehyun’s eyes never leaving him and he suddenly feels a little calmer.

“Fine, maybe I’m not really okay,” he admits and Taehyun simply nods, already guessing that much and waiting for a further explanation. “Just… I’m genuinely worried about Kai, you know? And Yeonjun-hyung has been a lot more secretive these days. I mean, there were always things he couldn’t tell me but it’s making me feel a little paranoid now. Like he knows things about Kai that I don’t. Even Kai decided to contact Yeonjun-hyung before me!”

“You mean Hueningkai? We’re in the same year, he’s a nice guy – I’ve been thinking about him lately, too. Not that we’re close, it’s just that it’s apparent when he’s not in the class,” Taehyun hums, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “I guess you don’t know when he’s coming back – or even _if_ he’s coming back – and that’s what makes you stressed, right?”

“It’s more about the theories that Yeonjun-hyung has been making up. Some of them actually make sense and I hate the thought of Kai being in a danger,” Beomgyu pauses and then looks up again, not even realizing when was it that he lowered his eyes again, “or Kai being the danger.”

“I don’t think he would ever harm anyone on purpose,” the blonde shakes his head. “I can’t really say anything more as I don’t have enough information but… yeah. Try not to let these thoughts get to you. Maybe talk to Yeonjun and sort things out, it’s about communication. I believe that Hornette would do something if one of her students were in danger anyway – definitely something more than just relying on aurors.” 

Beomgyu slowly nods, taking the words in but before he has the chance to answer a person barges in. Jasper Bay, the fourth year Gryffindor, catches their attention with a loud exclamation. “Choi Beomgyu, if you don’t stop flirting and get on the field right now, I swear we will replace you in the official match against Hufflepuff! Move that ass, even Yeonjun is there already!”

“And if you keep talking to me like that, I will push you off your broom,” Beomgyu bites back as he gets up and picks up the headband, quickly pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“We’re on the same team, dumbass?”

“Oh, believe me, I can make it look like an accident,” the older grins before turning to Taehyun, who’s still sitting on the bench. “You coming?”

“Hm? Yeah, sure.”

Twenty minutes later, after the usual warm ups, both teams are up in the sky. The game started with the usual handshake as a promise of a fair play, quick reminder of basic rules for the new players and then the Quaffle gets thrown vertically and there’s a distant sound of a whistle. Distant because by the time the balls are set free, all Beomgyu hears is his own breathing and brooms zooming past him.

In that moment, he can feel all of his worries leave his body.

Last year, after their match with Slytherin, he felt like he hit a wall. Losing is not a pleasant thing but the thought of being stuck in one place and never getting any better is way worse. He remembers sharing these concerns with Azure, the captain, but all she said was that as long as Beomgyu enjoys Quidditch, there’s no need for her to replace him. 

And of course, he does enjoy Quidditch. Maybe it took him a great loss and crying with his teammates all night to realize it but now, few months later, he’s never felt so strong and so sure of his posture. His hands grip the broom a little tighter and the wooden shaft sends familiar sparks into his palms. Breaths become deeper, eyesight sharper, there’s no real wind resistance and the fine rain only kisses his cheeks with a cold touch to it – it doesn’t bother him. 

Half an hour into the game and there’s no real sight of the Snitch just yet. The score is pretty even – 70:60 for Slytherin – and the few people on the bleachers keep enthusiastically cheering both teams, a sea of mostly red and green scarfs. Mostly, because all the way up, there’s a strike of blue – and when Beomgyu’s eyes unintentionally travel there for the third time, he spots a bit of yellow too. At first quick glance, he almost turned his broom that way in a hope that he spot the golden ball but it’s just Soobin. 

Soobin, who’s never been interested in flying let alone Quidditch, no, not at all. Soobin, who suddenly seems to enjoy the game – with the Ravenclaw by his side.

Is this bitter taste in Beomgyu’s mouth jealousy? Or did he accidentally swallow a fly? He bites his lip, hard, almost drawing blood at the thought of him getting jealous of the lanky Hufflepuff. 

“Beomgyu! Watch out!” he can hear Azure yell as a fast Bludger zooms his way. Beomgyu shifts in his place and luckily, the ball just circumscribes almost a perfect ellipse as it goes back to another Beater. It’s thanks to the Bludger that Beomgyu regains his focus, tilting his broom up.

Vertical flying is his least favourite due to the fact that it makes his eyes all teary and guts feel like they’re out of his body on a silly little string that is attached to one of the branches of his broom’s tail. But once he’s above the ground, above everyone’s heads – it’s worth it. The air is colder and heavier, making him a little dizzy but it’s so quiet here. No cheers reach his ears, no Bludgers finding their next target. Just his broom, his hands and…

Beomgyu squints his eyes but it’s no doubt – just above the left wing of the bleachers, there’s a Snitch training its wings as if it knew it’s visible to Beomgyu’s eyes and now getting ready for a race. And who’s Beomgyu to not accept such challenge?

He grips the handle, hard, before the broom gets the hint and goes that direction, so fast one would be surprised the thin boy isn’t now flying right behind it barely hanging on his own guts. 

“Oh god, he’s going to crash, Taehyun, I can’t watch it,” Soobin squeaks as the bleachers buzz upon seeing the red blur coming their way.

“Don’t be so dramatic, I can see your eyes peeking through your fingers,” Taehyun huffs, getting up to get a better look. “Besides, he’s not going to crash. I think he spot the Snitch!”

Just as Taehyun says that, Beomgyu reaches out his arm towards the ground where the golden ball hid after making the boy chase after it. Right before it looks like he’s really going to crash, Beomgyu picks up the head of his broom, making it go parallelly with the ground. The Snitch, now gaining its energy back, seems however still too far out of his reach – that’s when Beomgyu grabs the handle hard with his right arm and secures both his feet on the shaft. He tries to ignore his wobbly knees, tries to ignore the clink that signalizes that one of the teams just scored a goal – he tries to ignore, ignore, his fingers stretching out until they’re just as long as the string securing his guts. And then they wrap around the Snitch.

The whistle announces the end of the game but before that, Beomgyu hears cheers from his team and from the bleachers – he did it. After a summer of feeling guilty for not being able to turn around the last match of the seventh years. He did it. And Taehyun saw because he’s clapping his hands in the way his fellow housemates do. His eyes sparkle all the way down here and there’s pride filling Beomgyu’s veins.

He feels like he could float.

Beomgyu lifts up the hand that’s gripping the Snitch, his other hand reaching for the handle. But it’s not here, cause Beomgyu is floating, floating, floating… his eyes get cloudy and oh god, he knows this feeling. He’s falling asleep, right? Or no, wait, is this a dream? Is he waking up?

Because he keeps floating until he doesn’t and that’s when Beomgyu’s head hits his broom as he gently, like a feather, falls. The world goes dark.


	4. I Am Not Dreaming, Am I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was so easy to finish, that's why i'm updating so soon! i hope i unraveled just enough information for now :] have fun reading!

The light hitting Beomgyu’s eyelids is harsh, too harsh. Without looking, his hands search around and groaning loudly, he realizes that wherever he’s lying right now, there is no blanket that could hide him.

Wait a second. Lying?

Beomgyu abruptly sits up, his eyes now wide open as he recalls the events that happened only about fifteen minutes ago. He caught the Snitch, Taehyun was smiling, the cheers, his broom… did he fell from it? He hit his head, right? Beomgyu carefully touches the swelling spot on his forehead, hissing at the pain. He then searches for a clock but he’s met by blank white walls all around. There are more beds in the room and it actually looks like Hogwarts’ Hospital Wing but Beomgyu is sure that’s not where he is – behind the windows, the world is only white, no clouds and no sky, no trees. 

“Done with looking? We don’t have much time.”

He yelps at the familiar voice from his right side. And it’s actually Hueningkai, sitting on the chair the opposite way, leaning against the stile with unreadable expression. Beomgyu gasps. “Kai? I was so scared! Where were you? No wait, where are we? What is this place?” he pauses and then his eyes widen. “Are you dead? Am _I_ dead?”

“Slow down with the questions,” the younger chuckles, shaking his head but there’s no humour in his voice. “Neither of us is dead.”

“But this isn’t the Hospital Wing, is it?”

“You’re technically right, it isn’t. Everything you see around is inside your head. Including me.”

“Oh god, I think I hit my head so hard I got concussion,” Beomgyu murmurs, locking his fingers in his hair.

“Well… _technically_ , that isn’t right,” Hueningkai avoids the eye contact, sighing. “Don’t freak out, okay?” Beomgyu hesitates, then nods. “While this isn’t actually happening, it’s real. See, you know how my mum is a psychic? Turns out I took after her. It’s a little tricky though.”

“Tricky as in…?”

Hueningkai shifts in his space.

“Kai, what?” Beomgyu cocks an eyebrow.

“Okay, okay. I can connect with people through my mind and I tried it with you many times before but I realized that I can’t do it if you’re awake because, you know, your inner energy is jamming it and I could hurt you like that. And when I tried it while you were sleeping, it was no use as you were unconscious the whole time and I couldn’t talk to you,” Hueningkai takes a deep breath in. “So, the only solution is picking the right time when you’re conscious but overwhelmed or simply… not fully present in the moment.”

“What are you implying?”

“After you caught the Snitch your brain activity changed in a certain way and it was easy for me to get inside your mind. The side effect is that you got knocked out,” his voice gets quieter by the end of the sentence but Beomgyu has no trouble hearing it anyway. He notices the words aren’t coming from Hueningkai’s mouth, rather from everywhere else. Like an echo. He would find it impressive if it weren’t for the younger’s confession.

“You did _what_? Kai Kamal Huening, I swear to God, I just fell from my broom in front of Ta– in front of my team _and_ Slytherin’s team! You know how embarrassing that is? They expect me to be in a top form when it comes to flying and you just… aghh,” he groans, head in hands. “Is there a reason why you showed up just now? I haven’t heard from you for two weeks!”

“Oh, right,” he takes out his wand and then sighs again. “Look, I’m sorry. For both – the fall in front of Taehyunnie and what I’m about to do right now but it’s the only option. We have only about five minutes left and I don’t want you to interrupt me.”

And before Beomgyu can say anything, Hueningkai waves his wand murmuring _Silencio_ and all the words turn into nothing. He shoots the younger an unappreciative look, mouthing things that are probably better unspoken.

“Last summer, my dad got bit by a werewolf during a certain mission,” he stands up, looking out of the imaginary window as if the view was any different from the walls around them. Beomgyu knows that more than a scenery of the trees, Hueningkai seeks their cover to hide all emotions creeping out and wrapping his whole body like Devil’s Snare. There’s no forest though.

“He got treated but you know, one can’t really do anything about werewolf’s bite. It only slowed down the process of him turning. The first full moon when he fully turned occurred when Lea, Bahiyyih and I were at Hogwarts already,” he pauses, “he almost killed my mum at that time.”

Beomgyu feels the words burning on his tongue but there are still no sounds coming out. Hueningkai turns around proving his theory – his eyes are all glossy, bottom lip abused from muffling the sobs. He’s smiling though, understanding Beomgyu’s sad face.

“Don’t worry, she’s staying at hospital, getting the best treatment along with weekly therapies. That’s why I stayed at my grandparents’ – Magical Congress of USA has a law that quite literally forbids one-person parenting if the person is a werewolf,” he explains. “So, me, Lea and Bahiyyih were supposed to meet our dad the weekend before the school year starts but Lea went missing. In June, she told us she will be spending holidays at our aunt’s in Korea but it turns out that she didn’t get there in the first place. It’s as if the ground swallowed her.”

“That’s why you aren’t coming to Hogwarts this year? You’re looking for her, aren’t you?” Beomgyu whispers, his voice finally coming back to him. 

“We all are,” Hueningkai nods. “By the time you gain your consciousness, I’ll be at Hogwarts. Remember? I can’t stay with my dad for too long. MACUSA is suspecting something already and it’s been only two weeks, it’s not like me and Bahiyyih can hide every time the aurors make an inspection.”

_“Beomgyu… Beomgyu… wake up.”_

“They’re calling for you already and since we can hear them, the mind connection will break any second,” Hueningkai announces, looking up towards the ceiling. 

Beomgyu nods, getting the strange feeling from earlier again. This time it’s not because of too much adrenalin in his blood – it’s a wave of sadness, he realizes. He watches as Hueningkai picks up the chair and moves it back to its place behind the white desk.

_“I think he’s coming to his senses, his eyelashes are fluttering…”_

“Hey, Kai,” Beomgyu calls out, his voice already sounding pretty distant. He’s falling out of it. The other is just a blur now. “We’ll find her, okay? We will.”

Hueningkai comes a little closer, Beomgyu seeing his features now. Red eyes, wet cheeks and a soft smile. He takes Beomgyu’s hand but it goes through. The walls start to fade into grey before they get black. 

Once again, Beomgyu feels like falling. He’s surrounded by nothing but thick emptiness, suffocating him until it’s hard to breathe, hard to focus. It takes only about ten seconds but it feels like a whole eternity before he feels a colour. 

His eyelids glow with bright orange – is the sun setting already? It’s all warm, a complete contrast to what he felt just moments before with how the last sunrays of the day gently caress his cheeks… until there’s a cold rug placed right in the middle of his forehead. Beomgyu winces, opening his left eye only so he can see what kind of idiot woke him up.

“What the fuck,” he murmurs, throat dry, waiting for his sight to adjust. Above him stands Hueningkai with a cheeky smile and dripping blue rug in his left hand. The difference is that he’s wearing his Hufflepuff robes now and not the bright yellow hoodie and black jeans he saw on him before.

Beomgyu sits up, putting one of the thick hospital pillows behind his back. At the movement, the rest of boys stands up, a loud scraping of three chairs.

“Gyu, are you alright?” Yeonjun is the first one to speak, easily pushing away both Taehyun and Soobin so he can get closer to the bed. 

“I’m fine. Just a little tired, honestly.”

“You didn’t look very fine back there,” Taehyun says. “Lucky you didn’t break anything.”

“He fell from six feet, I would be surprised if he did break something,” from behind the curtain, Madam Pomfrey comes in with bunch of papers in her hands. “Boys, move aside a little so I can get to him, will you? Thank you.”

Hueningkai drops the rug into the glass bowl sitting on a bedside table by Beomgyu and follows the movement of the others, taking another chair to put right next to Soobin’s. When they don’t make any effort leaving the room, Madam Pomfrey sighs loudly.

“Friendships these days, hm? Mister Choi, do you mind me doing a report on your condition with your friends here? I have to ask since it’s personal,” Beomgyu shakes his head. The woman clicks her tongue and takes out her wand, making the papers fly around the room so she can get a better look on them. She moves them around for a bit before she starts talking. 

“Except for the bump on your forehead and a few bruises on your legs, I haven’t found anything abnormal on your body. Normally, I would let you go without any more examinations but I found something pretty unusual when it comes to your brain,” Madam Pomfrey reaches out to take a certain paper.

Beomgyu quickly glances towards Hueningkai who’s looking right back at him. _Don’t say a word_ – is the signal but he realizes he can actually hear the younger’s voice, frowning. _Get out of my head already, will you? I thought you can’t do that since I’m conscious again!_

Hueningkai hides the smile behind his palm. _Okay, I’ll stop! I couldn’t help it, your thoughts when you spot Tyun here were just hilarious._

“These lines show everything going on inside of this,” Madam Pomfrey hits Beomgyu’s head with her wand after she notices the silent exchange between the two. She then points to the sheet she picked from the bunch. “I was able to restore even the moments right before you fell. You can see it here – the frequent small zigzags signify that you were overly excited. However, as you lost your consciousness, they became more apart, thinner. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is this bit when it’s just this straight line.”

“What does that mean?” Beomgyu leans over so he can get a better look on the paper.

“Wait, I thought even dead people never quite reach that?” Soobin speaks up and Madam Pomfrey throws him a small smile, nodding.

“Indeed, that’s why it’s so strange. Considering Mister Choi is sitting here now, seemingly alive and well,” she then turns back to Beomgyu. “It means that for about twelve minutes, while you were lying here, your brain completely turned off. Which isn’t possible. See, imagine it as a hamster running in its wheel. When you're awake, the hamster runs fast without any difficulties, that's why the lines are so frantic. When you fall asleep, it gets dark and so the hamster can’t see – it has to slow down so it doesn’t slip, again pretty visible on the graph with how each reaching point gets further. When a person dies, it gets dark too but the hamster can’t tell the difference between usual sleeping and death. That’s why it keeps running.”

“So, you’re telling me my hamster fell out of its wheel?”

“Oh god, Beomgyu, it’s a metaphor,” Taehyun rolls his eyes as Yeonjun chuckles lightly.

“Well, more like your _hamster_ just decided to take a break and stop. As I said, that does not happen,” Madam Pomfrey picks up the folder and a quill. “Have you ever had any narcoleptic problems in the past?”

“Narcolepsy as in randomly falling asleep? Uh… no, I don’t think so?” Beomgyu scratches behind his ear. 

He tries to not show any sign of his panic thoughts. So Hueningkai has the ability to make a person’s brain shut completely? How dangerous is that? A shiver runs down his spine, suddenly he’s feeling glad the boy is his friend and not an enemy.

“Alright,” she writes down a few scribbles Beomgyu can’t quite decipher before she looks back up. “I suppose you aren’t hurting anywhere, right? I won’t force you to stay here if you’re feeling fine but if anything happens, come here first. I can trust you with looking out for him, boys?”

“Of course,” Hueningkai and Yeonjun say in unison, sharing a smile.

And so the five of them leave the Hospital Wing just as the sun starts to completely set. Beomgyu thinks for a bit just how strange it is that they’re all coming together but it’s dinner time, he realizes, so they might as well just pick the same and fastest route to the Great Hall instead of awkwardly separating. 

Beomgyu can hear Hueningkai share his stories from summer to Yeonjun as if nothing happened, Soobin sometimes chimes in with sharing some Hufflepuff gossip to which the youngest never fails giving the most extra reaction – _What?! A first year brought a puppy ghost to Hogwarts and I missed that?!_

He doesn’t participate in the conversation though as he only now fully takes in Hueningkai’s words from earlier. Lea is missing, Hueningkai and his other sister couldn’t stay home and that’s why they finally came back to Hogwarts, aurors at their house, aurors here… are they after them? Do the aurors know the two broke American laws? 

“Beomgyu? You’re zoning out,” Taehyun gently taps his shoulder and then makes them both stop in their tracks. The other three don’t seem to notice, still laughing loudly as they get closer to the Great Hall.

“Sorry.”

“No, hey, don’t apologise. I know it’s weird for me to tell you something like this since we haven’t really talked much but… if anything’s up, you can talk to me.”

Beomgyu smiles. _Oh god, only if you knew. Among the sky and thousands of stars, the birds and the fallen leaves caught by the wind – many things are up and you can only imagine, Taehyun, only imagine the other possibilities. My best friend can get inside people’s head as if it were nothing special, his dad is a werewolf, that’s just insane, insane, I am insane–_

“Shouldn’t we go back to the Hospital Wing? I genuinely think you have a concussion,” Taehyun reaches out his hands to cup the other’s cheeks as he examines the dumbfounded expression on his face and blown orbs.

“Huh?” Beomgyu can feel his cheeks heating up at the touch. He takes Taehyun wrists to escape the warmth, shaking his head before he can worry him any further. “I’m fine, really. I mean as fine as a person who was something more than dead only about an hour ago can be.”

That makes Taehyun grin, all teeth and crinkled eyes. “You’re technically a zombie now, right.”

“Oh my god, I haven’t thought about it like that. Sounds hella cool.”

They both crack up and for a second Beomgyu gets lost in it. For a second, he thinks that nothing really matters because as long as there’s a speck of hope, everything will be alright.


	5. An Eye for An Eye, A Tooth for A Tooth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii, i'm back! i haven't updated in three weeks, i think - it was christmas, then i had to prepare for classes... it was messy, what can i say, haha.  
> i'm happy i finally got to the exciting part of the story. not that i don't like writing pinning or quidditch - well, you'll see what i got for you today >:]  
> thanks for reading my story and giving me 55 kudos!

“I just don’t see why we should tell them.”

The empty classroom is illuminated by three wands only, their owners leaning against dusty desks. It’s way past midnight, maybe two in the morning already. Beomgyu’s light gets a little brighter as he points the tip of his wand towards Hueningkai to see his face more properly. 

“Are you kidding me? I thought you and Taehyun have classes together, haven’t you noticed just how smart he is? I believe he could help us solve this.”

Yeonjun gets up from his seat. “And Soobinnie knows every secret way around Hogwarts. He has a great sense of direction.”

Hueningkai looks at both of them before chuckling, shaking his head in disbelief. “Look, I know you both have a massive crush but this isn’t about them. Or about us at all. It’s about Lea and the less people know, the less danger she is in.”

“I don’t have a crush!” Beomgyu and Yeonjun exclaim, staring at each other.

“Really? You keep calling him Soobinnie and he never misses your practise. He doesn’t even know Quidditch’s rules!”

“Oh yeah? Well, Mister I-haven’t-touched-a-book-since-I-was-thirteen, how’s your library sessions with Taehyun going? Didn’t know you were so into _reading_.”

“I am not, he’s helping me study!” Beomgyu looks at Hueningkai as if proving his earlier point. “See? Taehyun was able to make _me_ pass my Charms test!”

“It’s not like that. I don’t doubt their abilities,” the youngest sighs. “Soobin-hyung is a prefect and Taehyun is the best candidate to become one too next year. If they get involved in any of this, it could ruin–”

“You don’t want them in our party because you’re scared of putting their status at risk?” Yeonjun interrupts with a dry laughter. “Kai, I don’t know what happened to Lea, neither do you, no one knows. But serious question, do you think it’s so bad that if we stick our noses into it, it will mess up our future?”

“I can’t tell!” Hueningkai gets up too, now standing right in front of Yeonjun. He’s slightly taller so the older has to straighten his back to keep his position above him. “I told you everything I know and you seriously need to stop doubting my decisions! I don’t know if she got kidnapped or if she’s hiding or whatever but either way, I’d rather have us find her. So, as I said. The less people know, the better. It’s my sister anyway, not you–”

“Lea is my friend, you’re not the only one who cares about her!” Yeonjun raises his voice as well. If it weren’t so dark, one would notice the tears tangled in his eyelashes. Hueningkai, who stands close enough to see, doesn’t comment on it. The tense look in his eyes, however, softens.

“Hey, the last thing we need right now is bad blood within us,” Beomgyu steps between them, looking first at Yeonjun and then Hueningkai. When they both nod, he says. “I agree with Kai. Not to assume but with how the situation looks right now… it doesn’t seem like your typical search for a lost kid, does it? It reminds me of a hunter chasing after their prey, if anything.”

The meaning of the words hangs heavy in the air.

It’s been three weeks since Hueningkai came back and there hasn’t been any progress in finding his sister. They haven’t had many opportunities to meet up either as their classes often overlap and the boys quickly learnt that anywhere they go, the aurors are right up their asses. It doesn’t feel like they are being followed – _hopefully they aren’t_ – the men are simply everywhere. 

Somewhen at the start of October, more of them came and while Beomgyu didn’t keep up with the exact number of the ministry’s workers that were around, it wasn’t hard to estimate it – twenty for sure, maybe more.

And that’s why they started meeting up at night, in an abandoned classroom on the second floor. Yeonjun, skilled in a special type of protective and spying charms, casted a spell on the whole room so they know if anyone is coming or if there’s an outsider listening to their conversations. 

“You know what? Let’s end it today. I have Astronomy tomorrow and I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake past bed time two nights in a row,” Hueningkai yawns when the silence stretches out into three minutes. 

“Aw, a baby’s tired already?” Yeonjun mocks jokingly.

“Yes, tired of your bullshit. Beomgyu-hyung, you coming too?”

“Yeah, okay. Go first and send us a message if the air is clean.”

“Damn, y’all keep abusing my powers much, hm~?” Hueningkai singsongs but his hand is already on the rusty doorknob. 

“Just go!”

The youngest laughs, the sound too loud compared to the deepness of the night. A few minutes later they’re assured that the whole wing is empty and they both can go. Beomgyu is second to leave the classroom, followed by Yeonjun.

The Slytherin looks back to see an empty corridor one last time before he heads towards the staircase. That’s when a big hand drapes over his mouth, his eyes widen even more as another one wraps around his waist and the person easily pulls him into the small closet by his left side. The palm muffles his words and it drops only when the door is closed. 

In there, it’s dark until the single candle flying mid-air lights up.

Yeonjun turns to face the someone, immediately hitting him upon noticing the yellow tie and mainly the shit-eating grin. 

“Soobin! You can’t scare me–” his rant gets muffled again. This time, it’s not a hand on his mouth – it’s lips. 

Without any further complains, he kisses back. His hands settle on Soobin’s shoulders, slowly moving up until his fingers get lost in the soft black nest, always too messy, making the younger look like a troublemaker in a contradiction to his soft and innocent personality. 

Lately however, Soobin’s been getting bolder. He rests his hand on Yeonjun’s thigh under the table when they have breakfast together, waits for his practise to end only to drag him behind the bleachers and blow his mind by a heated make out session… if you asked Yeonjun how it started, he wouldn’t be able to tell. One moment they were in the library with Yeonjun explaining Quidditch to the younger and then, _out of nowhere_ , their tongues weren’t in their own very mouths. Like magic.

The things Soobin makes him feel are no magic though and Yeonjun is aware of it. It’s pure and real and tingly and just very nice and Yeonjun is a goner. Because he really doesn’t have a crush on Soobin, it’d be a lie to call it a simple crush at this point. Yeonjun is in too deep. Which is no good because if it were any good, Soobin would ask him out, right? He wouldn’t make this whole thing feel like a secret… right? 

He would grab Yeonjun’s hand on their way to classes, would take him to Hogsmeade to Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop where lovebirds go and mostly – he would tell their friends. 

Soobin’s big hand suddenly shifts from its place on Yeonjun’s hips to caress his cheek and he breaks the kiss. There it is. The word concerned written all over Soobin’s face Yeonjun notices every time they part. He fights the urge to roll his eyes, not in a mood for another pep talk and so he makes an effort to chase after Hufflepuff’s lips again. All Soobin lets him do is a peck, holding him back. Obviously determined. 

Yeonjun wants to hit him again. _Just keep kissing me, you dumbass, you know I’ll break if you keep looking at me like that._

“What’s up?”

“In the best case, heaven. Don’t know about that, don’t care about that. Kiss me again?” Yeonjun grins, dragging Soobin down a bit so their lips can connect. That doesn’t happen though, Soobin makes sure to keep small space between them.

“I’m serious, hyung. You seem to be out of it lately. I don’t want to ruin the mood but I just have to ask, I hate seeing you like this.”

“Seeing me like what?”

“Hm… worried? You used to have wrinkles around your lips and eyes from smiling too much, now they all moved between your eyebrows and on your forehead,” his fingers soften the skin, that’s when Yeonjun realizes he’s been frowning this whole time. 

“I’m fine, just tired.”

“Really? Oh, I wouldn’t be able to tell. You know, this is the fourth time I caught you outside of your dorm in the middle of the night. If it were any other prefect’s duty, they would take points from your house, do you realize that?”

“Yes, I do realize that. Can you stop giving me lectures now, please?”

“I am not lecturing I genuinely want to know what’s so important that it keeps you up at night and makes you so careless.”

“See, you’re wrong, I’m not careless. This is the safest option,” Soobin tilts his head at that, confused. Yeonjun can’t explain though and so he reaches up and actually kisses Soobin this time, sweet. “Sorry but I can’t tell you more. Can you trust me?”

Soobin sighs but nods. “I trust you.”

And that’s the end of the conversation. All the other words are left unspoken, pushed back as they kiss again.

On the other side of the castle, quite a different situation occurs. 

“Hey, Beomgyu!” the whisper-yell makes the latter jump out of his skin. He ponders whether to turn around or believe that if he tries hard enough, the darkness of the night will do him a favour and hide him. Needless to say, Beomgyu ends up looking back and then in three quick steps he reaches Taehyun so they can talk a bit louder.

“What are you doing here? I swear to god, Kang Taehyun, I feel like you’re stalking me cause wherever I go, you’re there.”

“Before you start accusing me of stalking, maybe saying a hi would be nice?” he cocks an eyebrow. “And I could ask you the same question. I saw you sneaking out of the Gryffindor common room three hours ago.”

“Wait, you actually followed me?” Beomgyu gasps in disbelief.

“No, you’re just not exactly discreet. For your information, I was going on a walk and you were literally humming by the bathrooms,” Taehyun huffs but then he notices the visible relief in the other’s eyes. That attracts his attention. “Oh? What, would it be bad if I did go after you?”

“… No?”

“No question-mark? Also, you hesitated.”

“I sure did not.”

“If you didn’t, then why the uncertainty, hm? What are you hiding, I thought we were playing an honest game?”

“You can’t just pull out the honest game card whenever you want! It applies to Quidditch only.”

“So you _are_ keeping something from me. Interesting, I will remember that.”

Beomgyu turns on his heel, throwing his arms in the air. A fake laughter escapes his lips. “Ugh, this is ridiculous. Seriously, Taehyun, maybe we should pretend we are both sleeping and this whole conversation didn’t happen.”

Taehyun reaches out to grab the older by his robes before he has the chance to leave. “Then if this is just a dream, we can do anything we want, right?”

The big doe-like eyes have a mischievous tint to them, making Beomgyu’s guts twist weirdly. He isn’t given the option to answer or perhaps Taehyun takes his stare as an affirmation because in the next moment, he starts to drag the poor Gryffindor behind him. Away from his common room.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to show you something I found. I am not dumb, Choi Beomgyu, I know you’ve been on pins and needles since the start of the year,” he pauses for a bit to look around the corner. When he makes sure they’re the only ones here, he gestures Beomgyu to keep following him. “I have been too, honestly. More of us have. A missing kid, the Sorting Hat’s song, Hornette’s being quiet about everything as well… So, I’ve been making an investigation –”

“Pause, wait a minute,” it’s Beomgyu’s turn to tug at other’s sleeves. “The Sorting Hat’s song?”

“Yeah, haven’t you listened to it? It’s always my favourite part of the whole evening. Anyway, the investigation –”

“I’m sorry for interrupting you again, but care to explain what’s about the song?”

“Well, I obviously don’t remember all of it but by the end, the Hat quite literally said that _those in the dark cannot be trusted._ Don’t you think it’s pretty obvious? It was talking about how we should be wary of the aurors – it was referring to their uniforms, to be exact.”

“Oh god, how did I not realize this?”

“Maybe if you listened, you would?” Taehyun smiles and starts walking again. “What were you doing during the feast to not hear it?”

Beomgyu flushes upon remembering what exactly he was doing that evening – thinking about him. He can’t say that though so he simply chuckles and catches up to Taehyun. “I have a special ability called zooning out. Very useful when Kai’s talking about The Adventures of Martin Miggs. Not so useful in classes. Anyway, you can enlighten me about your investigation now.”

Taehyun eyes him suspiciously. “You know what? Maybe I shouldn’t tell you. You aren’t fully truthful either.”

“What? You can’t just change your mind like that! You dragged me here!”

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, Beomgyu.”

They both stop in their tracks and stare at each other for a while. Beomgyu sighs, accepting his defeat when Taehyun crosses his arms on his chest adamantly.

“I was thinking about you.”

“Huh?”

“In the Great Hall during the sorting. I was thinking about how you look pretty in blond.”

The younger blinks twice before he laughs quietly and shakes his head. “I didn’t mean _this_. I meant where you were tonight. But okay, I accept the compliment and the attempt to be more honest with me. Now come on, we have to go before we get caught.”

Beomgyu stands in the same place for a few moments, feeling his ears burn. In fact, he stays still so long Taehyun has to turn around and say: “Are you going or do you wanna get in trouble?” which is enough for Beomgyu to wake up and jog after him.

“Basically, there’s a pattern in how new aurors appear,” Taehyun starts after a bit. “The quintet we all saw at the beginning stays here but you don’t really see them. That’s because their job isn’t to be on a watch – others do that. And those aurors are the ones who rotate and keep changing.”

“How are you so sure? I haven’t seen anyone coming in. I mean, to be honest, I also haven’t seen anyone coming out.”

“They don’t come through the gates. That’s what I want to show you, we’re almost there,” and when they reach the tapestry showing Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet, it hits Beomgyu right in the chest.

“The Room of Requirement?”

“Yes, exactly. Every Tuesday at 3:04 in the morning. Which is in four minutes so let me just…” Taehyun reaches into his pocket and takes out a strange fabric he quickly throws over them. 

_Invisible cloak_ , Beomgyu realizes and he would probably ask Taehyun just where the hell he got an item so rare but that’s when three people come in frame. Subconsciously, Beomgyu wraps an arm around Taehyun’s waist to make them as small as possible. To his surprise, the other leans in and looks up to give a clear sign. _A sound slips and we’re dead._

Meanwhile the men covered in cloaks are taking their time walking back and forth in front of the empty wall. Beomgyu swears he’s never felt a bigger urge to sneeze. But he somehow manages to keep it in long enough for them to not get exposed.

The door appears precisely at 3:04 – he sees it on Taehyun’s watch when the first person goes in. Following are the other two that take a quick glance behind their backs only to see a silly tapestry. Then they also open the door and hold it for three new individuals. With their arrival, the door disappears and they quickly disperse, all of them walking in different directions as if to hide any visible evidence of their sudden appearance.

Both of the boys stay under the invisible cloak for a while, until the footsteps cannot be heard anymore. 

“Alright, what was that.”

“I told you, they’re switching. I don’t know why yet. Soobin-hyung noticed it last week when he was doing one of his rounds and told me. I’ve been coming here these past few nights and came to the conclusion that they do this every Tuesday.”

Beomgyu nods, thinking. Taehyun is still looking at him, waiting for a verdict. He sighs and knowing just how much he shouldn’t speak his thoughts right now, he does. “I think we should tell Hueningkai.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm seriously pondering about writing a yeonbin related chap before the chaos occurs but i don't know, i want to keep this fic mainly taegyu oriented :]


	6. Make an Oath, You're My Echo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh, finally a new chapter is here! i had fun writing this one as well, so hopefully you'll enjoy reading it!
> 
> just a small tw/disclaimer: there are some slight mentions of blood. nothing too graphic but i just wanted to let you know! :]

“Before we start off the meeting, I’d _love_ to welcome our new members! Hi, welcome to the club, we play _chess_ here and take annual trips to Spain.”

“Seriously, Kai? Do you really want to be like this the whole time?” Yeonjun groans at the remark. The regret of initiating a meet up grows somehow even bigger as if it weren’t humongous already from the way Hueningkai reacted when him and Beomgyu stepped into the classroom with two special guests.

We don’t have to recall that moment to understand that his reaction, indeed, wasn’t exactly enthusiastic. 

“For your information, yes, yes I do. Because you two decided on a thing even after I showed a clear disapproval of the said thing,” Hueningkai turns to Soobin and Taehyun who’ve been sitting on one of the desks. “The said thing being your presence here.”

Before Taehyun has the chance to bite back – and oh, he absolutely wants to, if the intense stare is anything to go with – Beomgyu gets up to shield both him and Soobin. “Well, we’re talking democracy here and since me and Yeonjun-hyung voted yes for them to be here, that’s two-to-one.”

“But even if our system is democratic, you can’t hold a voting when the party isn’t fully present! You did it all without me!”

“Alright,” Yeonjun claps, clearly tired of the bickering as he pinches the bridge of his nose, “then let’s vote now. I am for Soobinnie and Taehyun-ah to join the party.”

“I am all for it as well. Kai?”

Hueningkai looks away.

“Kai.”

“Fine!” he ends up accepting the defeat with a loud sigh. “God. I am saying yes only because you two already brought them in and I’d still rather have them here than let them walk around knowing our secret spot,” he clarifies right after but Beomgyu can tell he’s not as mad about the results as he makes it seem. 

“Are you aware that our so-called secret spot is a classroom in a school of eight hundred students? I literally had my Transfiguration lesson next door yesterday!” Yeonjun laughs, making Hueningkai screech midsentence to drown out all of his words

It’s at times like these when Beomgyu realizes that Hueningkai is still just a fourteen-year-old, no matter how mature he can be sometimes. For some reason, it sends a pang right into his heart. After all, they’re all just kids. Kids, who should be meeting up in the daytime to complain about school or their shitty love lives. The opposite of what they’re doing.

Subconsciously, Beomgyu’s eyes dart to Taehyun who now watches Yeonjun and Hueningkai argue about… honestly, whatever it is, Taehyun seems entertained and the small smile on his lips is somehow just enough. Enough to light up the dark room, enough for Beomgyu to understand that his two friends are being silly again? Yeah.

For a second, Beomgyu hesitates. Was bringing Taehyun in actually a good idea? He’s been thinking about what they saw yesterday and it clearly didn’t seem like a simple change between those who work night and those who work day shifts. In a sense, he gets what Hueningkai meant when he opposed the idea Yeonjun and he so desperately tried to enforce – he really does.

Because perhaps it’s true that this dirty classroom is a secret from all the other students. They see a door with a rusty doorknob – Beomgyu, Yeonjun and Hueningkai see an opportunity to solve a mystery. They see a promise they never made but are all aware of.

Does Beomgyu want Taehyun to be a part of this promise? To possibly put him in danger? He’s not so sure anymore.

“Alright, Yeonjun-hyung, get the knife.”

Hold on.

“Get a what now?” the words from Hueningkai’s mouth take him out of his short contemplation. All four pairs of eyes drop to him, as if he were the one to talk about knifes all of a sudden.

“You really should pay more attention to your surroundings.” He kindly ignores Soobin’s short giggle. And looks at the youngest instead.

“A knife. We’re making an oath,” Hueningkai says casually and takes the knife from Yeonjun’s hand. “To ensure trust among us.”

“What! Can’t we just… promise?”

“Are you scared, Beomgyu-hyung?” Taehyun asks and maybe, _maybe_ , he would say yes, because, obviously, but Taehyun just called him hyung and he simply can’t turn down his junior, now, can he? Beomgyu curses himself almost immediately.

“No! Of course, I am not scared. I’m just saying that there are other options.”

“Well, I like this one. It’s symbolic,” Yeonjun shrugs and takes place right next to Hueningkai along with Soobin, who also without any signs of hesitation intertwines his fingers with Yeonjun’s. Honestly, how did they come to this? Taehyun holds out his delicate hand towards Beomgyu with an assuring smile. And he's damned.

Beomgyu’s back door could be suggesting a voting but he knows it’d be useless and so he just sighs, bites the insides of his cheek and takes the hand.

The five boys form a circle – Hueningkai-Yeonjun-Soobin-Taehyun-Beomgyu-Hueningkai – and they all hold each other hands. On one side, Beomgyu feels the cold handle of the knife, from left, Taehyun keeps brushing his knuckles. Hueningkai clears his throat.

“We’re all here right now to promise that no matter what, we won’t betray the party. We will always prioritize honesty, the truth even if it is ugly and hurts. We will help each other out in every situation. We will take care of one another, look out for one another and keep one another safe,” Hueningkai cuts the palm of his right hand and hisses lowly as the blood starts painting the soft skin red. He turns to Beomgyu with a question in his eyes and all Beomgyu can do is nod as Hueningkai brings the knife to his right hand and repeats the same motion with Taehyun, Soobin and Yeonjun as well. 

Only their hisses of pain can be heard, otherwise the room is completely silent until the moment when Hueningkai makes a full circle and gets back to his former position between Yeonjun and Beomgyu. The blood slowly drips down, staining their fingers in process as they reconnect their hands.

“We will find Lea and face whatever gets in the way.”

“Together,” Beomgyu adds and squeezes Hueningkai’s hand. Which he would probably find utterly disgusting twenty minutes ago – he just smeared his own blood on the younger’s hand, you know, the usual week night activity – but he just has to smile. Hueningkai smiles back and Taehyun, from his left, squeezes his hand as well.

“Together,” Taehyun repeats after him and smiles up. Right into his eyes.

And so, the five of them stand in a circle, in a dimmed classroom that feels like a secret, on a school day. Hueningkai should be in his Astronomy class right now but they’re all repeating the word _Together_ , back and forth. When it gets quiet after a while, someone says it again and the rest repeats it, like an echo.

Wasn’t that the point of the oath in the first place? Rather than building a trust, becoming the shadow, the echo of one another? 

Beomgyu laughs lightly because he is light. Even if the classroom feels like a secret, there are still eight hundred other students and any of them could theoretically come in in this exact moment – and the sight would probably look silly to outsiders.

But Soobin laughs, too. And they’re an echo now, so they all start laughing.

And when they calm down, Taehyun says: “Thanks for my first ever cult experience, how about we take a trip to Spain next time?”

And they start laughing again.

They laugh and laugh but as the night goes on, they switch to more serious tones and start sharing their secrets as well as planning next steps. By the time they all go to their dorms – Soobin showed them one of the hidden corridors that are apparently everywhere around Hogwarts, one just needs to look around – the sun is already rising.

Soobin, Hueningkai and Yeonjun, who have their common rooms in the Dungeons, then bit their goodbyes to Beomgyu and Taehyun. The duo walks in a comfortable silence the whole time, enjoying the calmness of the castle at the crack of dawn.

Only when it’s time for them to separate does Taehyun speak up. “Do you want to come with me? I have a medical kit in my room, I could bandage the wound up for you.” This time, Beomgyu doesn’t hesitate and takes Taehyun hand in his as the younger leads them.

The Ravenclaw common room is… spacy – quite literally, since the ceiling is painted like a night sky. Taehyun runs up the stairs to his room and meanwhile lets Beomgyu look around.

He’s never been here before and he doesn’t know what he expected from a Ravenclaw common room but it somehow still fulfils all his expectations – the bookshelves packed with thick titles, big windows that are letting in the first sunrays of the day, blue armchairs and blue rugs, statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and a fireplace. It’s nice, cozy. 

Peaceful even – unlike the Gryffindor common room that accidentally catches on fire almost every other week.

Beomgyu sits down in one of the armchairs and thinks that this place is probably just as calm throughout the day as it is now at six in the morning. By the time Taehyun comes back, he almost forgot about his bleeding palm.

Taehyun reminds him as he grabs his hand and inspects the wound. His own left hand is already wrapped in a gauze.

“Can you, please, be gentle at least?” Beomgyu whispers and fights the urge to wince when Taehyun applies the disinfection.

“Sorry for making sure it won’t fester,” Taehyun mumbles and Beomgyu swears the grip on his hand gets tighter so it hurts even more. He doesn’t complain any more, just bites his lip and voices the question he didn’t get to ask earlier.

“Where have you learnt this anyway? Aren’t there healing spells?”

Taehyun looks up through his eyelashes and offers a small smile. “There are and they’re pretty simple. Problem is that the healing spell won’t leave a scar.”

Beomgyu watches Taehyun take out the gauze and lets him talk. “My dad is a medic in muggle world. He taught me how to give a person first aid and basically makes sure I take the kit with me every time I travel. 

At first, I found it useless because… yeah, the basic healing spells are easy and everyone can do them, you know. I asked him about it,” he secures the pad of the gauze so it covers the scratch, “and he said, in his awful accent, _Taehyun, a day will come when you can’t solve everything with magic. A day will come when you want to embrace and remember the pain. Now, come and help me finish the sage salve, my boy!_ ”

Beomgyu can’t help but chuckle at the impression and Taehyun grins as he continues. “At that point, I was sure the old man was just looking for excuses as to why I can’t go out and play with other kids. But maybe I understand the words a little better now. I mean, if there’s a pain one would want to remember, wouldn’t it be this?”

Taehyun finishes off and runs his fingertips over Beomgyu’s palm where, under the gauze, a scar will appear in the next few weeks. Beomgyu looks down and smiles. “I’m sure your dad would be proud. The bandage looks neat.”

“Yeah, he’d probably kick my ass if it weren’t,” he clicks his tongue. “Thanks for being such a good patient though – well, minus the initial complaining. That’s on me though, I still need to work on my attitude.”

Beomgyu can’t really say anything to that so he simply nods and helps Taehyun clean up his things, ignoring the way their fingers brush from time to time.

The sun fully shines on them when they part.


	7. The Familiar Meadow under Full Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii, i'm back again! i really wanted to finish this one before january ends and it worked so i'm happy~
> 
> this chapter was a real struggle, it kept deleting and i overall just had so much problems in the process >:( maybe that's why it is pretty sentimental and all feely? its main star is hueningkai, though! yay! also some soft yeonbin is here so enjoy!

Before Hueningkai sits down, he takes his wand out of the pocket of his robes and waves it towards the dark blue curtains, closing them so there’s not a single ray of light creeping in. He then recklessly throws away his wand to avoid any further distraction.

Hueningkai breaths in as he kneels. The floor is dirty and cold, he tries hard to ignore the urge to sneeze and the coldness that starts spreading from his shins all the way to the tips of his fingers. He closes his eyes and focuses on the darkness surrounding him instead.

It’s quiet.

Behind his eyelids, all he can see is his own aura as he slowly separates his soul from his body. Hueningkai takes another deep breath in. Doesn’t scratch his nose when he inhales dust that tickles his nostrils uncomfortably, doesn’t exhale either.

The red aura starts drowning in the painful throbbing of his brain that screams for oxygen. It starts falling, until it hits the imaginary surface and then… then Hueningkai falls as well, face first into the layer of dirt. Unconscious. 

“Are you sure we can sit here?”

“Yes, oh my god, you don’t have to ask me every five minutes,” Soobin giggles quietly and rubs the knuckles of Yeonjun’s hands in an attempt to warm the elder up. He’s smiling softly as he looks him in the eyes. “It’s safe, nobody’s gonna know. Everyone, including the professors, is sleeping at this hour, that’s why there are prefects in the first place – to walk around the castle when the professors don’t want to.”

“I never realized how the system basically allows them to use y’all as their personal slaves,” Yeonjun sighs, breaking the eye contact as soon as he feels the familiar warmth paint his cheeks. He focuses on the sight of his hands gently placed in Soobin’s lap. They look so small compared to his. Yeonjun feels even smaller when Soobin’s laughter breaks the unspoken barrier of the night.

“The rough life of a well-behaved fifteen-year-old, what can I say?”

Yeonjun hums and doesn’t say anything else. After a while, he looks up again. Finding Soobin still looking at him, he smiles. “Well, almost a sixteen-year-old now, hm? You’re growing up, Binnie~.”

“My birthday is still pretty far, thank you very much,” he huffs and drops Yeonjun’s hands to stretch. Yeonjun misses the softness but he doesn’t have much time to feel that way as Soobin smoothly places his left arm around his shoulders to pull him in for a side hug. _That sneaky bastard_. Yeonjun lays his head on Soobin’s shoulder nevertheless.

“And don’t remind me. Being sixteen is just… a strange concept, you know?” Soobin continues. “It sounds like a lot of responsibility. Forget OWLs, if I lived in the States, I could get my driver’s licence, that’s insane. And here – I could get married even! Not that I’m planning on that, it’s just that it feels so… adultlike.”

Yeonjun can’t help the chuckle bubbling in his throat. He takes Soobin’s hand in his when he sees how the younger is ready to hit him for laughing. “Calm down, okay? As someone who was sixteen before –”

“– You were sixteen literally not even two months ago –”

“– I have to say that it’s not _that_ drastic. Sure, as you get older, there will be changes in how much you can do but it’s somehow still the same. I mean, are you really going to base your life off of your age?”

“If you put it like that… then probably no, I guess. I just don’t want to grow up,” Soobin confesses. It sounds sad, Yeonjun lifts his head up to find the younger’s face illuminated by the brightness of full moon. When Soobin catches him staring, he gives him another small smile.

Yeonjun hits him in the chest, earning an offended yelp. “Dumbass, aging doesn’t equal growing up. You can’t help getting older but it’s only for you to decide how much and when and _if_ you grow up!”

“Hm, that’s right,” Soobin murmurs and kisses Yeonjun’s temple, catching him by surprise. “However, there are situations when these two overlap, growing up and aging, I mean. Like… as I get older, my time at Hogwarts shortens. That sounds like growing up to me.”

“Okay, valid,” not commenting the peck, Yeonjun nods. “I can’t believe the next year will be my last one. Time passes by too fast.”

Soobin pats his back, laughing. “You sound like an old man, hyung.”

Yeonjun’s hand lands flat on the younger’s thigh, making him laugh even louder before he calms down a little. All serious now, he says, “The year without you will be a tough one, though.”

There’s a wave of electricity surging through Yeonjun’s veins at that. He pulls back a little. Soobin’s face is literally shining and he isn’t sure if it is because of the moonlight or if it’s the wide grin gracing his lips. This time, words aren’t needed. 

Yeonjun gets up and stretches out his hand. Soobin takes it without hesitation and they continue on the prefect’s duty of walking around the castle until three in the morning. Soobin used to hate these night walks but ever since Yeonjun started tagging along… he has to admit, it’s not that bad.

When Hueningkai opens his eyes, it’s because of the soft grass that – with help of gentle breeze – tickles his cheeks. He immediately stands up and visibly calms down when he notices hundreds and hundreds square metres of grass and occasional poppies. A meadow.

A thought pops up in his brain as he looks around, searching for a certain someone. Hueningkai doesn’t know if meadows can feel familiar to a person but if they could, this one would definitely be the most familiar meadow to him – to the point it feels like home.

But that’s because of _her_ – he finally notices the woman squatting in front of a big anthill. She’s wearing white frock; her hair contradicts it beautifully as it falls down her back in black waves all the way to the ground where small twigs tangle in it. Her scarred hands are holding a loaf of bread as she’s feeding the ants.

Hueningkai slowly walks over to her. He sits down, smiling. “Hi, mum. I missed you a lot.”

The woman looks up from the ants for a bit to reciprocate the smile, lovingly. “I missed you a lot, too. Took you long enough, coming back to me, hm?”

Hueningkai sheepishly takes the half of bread his mother offers him and nods. “I couldn’t find you. It’s harder for me to connect to you.” He sighs loudly, crumbling the bread to calm his nerves. “Does it… does it mean that you’re– uhm, I mean, are they still keeping you in coma?”

“I don’t have a choice, you know that,” she hums. “They’ve already started the process of taking my memories away.”

Hueningkai doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to – his mum is able to read his thoughts as if he were an open book anyway. 

The thing is that it hurts both of them. Ever since the Healers at St Mungo’s proposed the idea of erasing the traumatic event of that one full moon, she was against, hating the thought of strangers stealing a part of her life.

But in the end, finishing the therapy is the only way out of the hospital and she always knew. The visible wounds on her body were healed with great precision, however the scars hidden from one’s eyes – the scars she carries inside her heart and mind – they are still bleeding, all over the place. 

As much as she doesn’t want to forget the pain, rather embrace it and become stronger, she’s aware that this step could speed up the process of her coming back to her family. And there’s no mother in this world that wouldn’t do anything just to have her children nearby.

Hueningkai looks up to the night sky where the shredded clouds reveal the moon. It’s perfectly round, sad, shining with its all might. There’s the cold touch of her hands on his as she reaches out to him.

“Have you talked to him today? Is he okay?” she draws tiny little doodles on her son’s palm. Hueningkai gives the hand a squeeze as he shakes his head.

“I tried, before I came here. But the line… it was dead. I was too late.”

She nods. “Then let’s pray for him. Maybe if both of us try, he will hear us even in that state.”

And so, they both close their eyes and stay silent for a while, holding hands. The breeze ruffles their hair, plays in the grass and sings quietly its song. After a minute, the woman claps and goes back to feeding the ants. “Anyway, why did you come here today?”

Hueningkai sighs. “You already know, I physically _felt_ how you rummaged through my thoughts like five minutes ago.”

“I still want to hear it from you out loud,” she clicks her tongue and Hueningkai bites his bottom lip before another sound of exasperation has the chance to leave him. She never made things easier.

“Okay then. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried getting into a complete stranger’s head. Like, someone you know by face only.”

“When I think about it… I actually did. You have to keep in mind that my powers are very limited compared to yours though,” she says. “It’s a whole lot safer for me since I only need my hearing and voice. You project your entire soul into someone’s thoughts and create a whole body to yourself as well as the surroundings. That’s incredible but very dangerous.”

“Is it possible though?”

The woman looks up to him, concern embed in her eyes. “I guess it isn’t impossible. But Kai, I always did things like these to my friends’ crushes. Trying it on an auror is… insane, simply insane, these people are trained to kill when they feel threatened, kid.”

“Mum, they can’t hurt me,” Hueningkai places his hands on her shoulder to put an extra emphasis on his words. “It’s similar to a dream, right? Like now, everything around us exists just between you and me and if I died, I would wake up in reality again, right?”

“I can’t tell. As I said, it’s your soul here. What if they took that away from you? Who would you be without a soul?” she whispers and Hueningkai can tell she’s holding back a sob. “It’s as if you decided to jump off of a cliff with a small hope that the water under it is deep enough. I know you want to do it for Lea, but you can’t just dive in not knowing the consequences. I… I don’t want to lose another child.”

The last sentence gets muffled as she covers her mouth with the back of her hand and looks away to hide the tears pricking in the corners of her eyes. Hueningkai feels his blood boil at that, making the breeze become much stronger.

It’s pushing around the masses of grass, tearing apart the clouds as well as destroying the anthill made of spruce needles. It stops only when his mum reaches out to hold his wrists strong enough to leave bruises. However, she doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t take back her words.

He takes his hands from her grasp, frowning. The air stiffens. “Don’t talk about her like that. Lea is not only my sister, she’s your daughter! And I know you can’t do much, neither can dad which leaves me to find her so, can you trust me at least?”

She stays silent longer this time and Hueningkai can tell she’s organising her next words. He tries to remain calm as he gets up and throws all the remaining pieces of bread to ants which already started the process of rebuilding their home. Hueningkai reaches into his pocket to take out his wand and help the little guys but with a stinging feeling of guilt, he realizes it’s been left in the classroom at Hogwarts.

“Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library.”

“Huh?” Hueningkai tears his gaze from the tiny pile, tilting his head.

“The Restricted Section, Hyuka,” she repeats. “There are some of the most dangerous files of our world as well as books about people like you and me. Read, think and learn more about your powers before you do anything stupid. Promise me that.”

“I promise,” Hueningkai nods and starts planning on how the hell he’s supposed to sneak in already. For now, though, he lets himself fall into her warm embrace. The coldness from earlier is all gone.

She gently threads her fingers through his long hair, humming quietly. “You should probably go back. In real time, probably two hours have passed already and I want you to get some night sleep at least once a week.”

He laughs. “Okay.”

The grass starts fading, red poppies lose their vibrant colour as they close and wither. She still holds him tight but Hueningkai can feel her body floating away from him. He still doesn’t let go.

“Promise me one more thing, yes?”

“Okay,” Hueningkai says again.

“Don’t do it by yourself. Ask your friends for help. Tell them if you’re having a hard time,” and with that, the connection breaks, not letting Hueningkai answer.

When he opens his eyes, he’s lying on the hard stone floor. It takes few minutes for him to adjust his eyes to the darkness, it takes some more time for him to find his wand. But once he does, and once he casts the spell _Lumos_ , it gets a little brighter.

Hueningkai passes the wand to his left hand to examine the ugly scratch on his palm. He smiles to himself. “Well, it’s not like I have any other choice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here are some end notes!  
> hueningkai's aura is red which means: well-grounded, energetic, strong-willed!   
> also the yeonbin scene is very personal to me since i'm becoming an adult in few months, it just feels comforting writing about it like this.   
> i hope you enjoyed reading! i'm very sorry for not being best at updating but i'll try to get 3 chapters a month, at least :)  
> stay safe and healthy!


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